SUBSCRIBE:

Kyrgyzstan following in Russia's footsteps with proposed “foreign agents” bill

Share

European Union (EU) leaders should forcefully raise concerns about human rights abuses in Kyrgyzstan during President Almazbek Atambaev's visit to Brussels on September 17, 2013, and get specific commitments to address them, Human Rights Watch and Front Line Defenders said today.

The EU should press Atambaev for the immediate release of the wrongfully imprisoned rights defender Azimjon Askarov. EU leaders should also seek a promise from the Kyrgyzstan leader to call a halt to the rampant courtroom violence that plagues the country's justice system, and to reject a problematic draft bill that would seriously restrict the work of nongovernmental groups.

“The Askarov case is perhaps the clearest illustration of the grave injustices that followed the outbreak of ethnic violence in southern Kyrgyzstan three years ago,” said Mihra Rittmann, Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The EU should press Atambaev, once and for all, to call on the authorities to reopen the case, have the conviction set aside, and investigate Askarov's allegations of torture.”

Askarov, a prominent rights defender whose work focused on ill-treatment and torture by the police, has been serving a life sentence following his deeply flawed trial and conviction for alleged involvement in the ethnic violence that rocked the country's south in June 2010. During his trial, Askarov, 62, made credible allegations that he had been tortured in custody, but prosecutorial authorities have repeatedly declined to investigate. His health has declined markedly in prison.

During his trip to Brussels, Atambaev will hold talks with several high-level EU officials including Catherine Ashton, the vice-president and high representative for foreign affairs and security policy; European Parliament President Martin Schulz; European Commission President José Manuel Barroso; and European Council President Herman van Rompuy.

The deeply troubling legislative proposal was published on September 6 by two members of parliament. It would seriously curb independent advocacy and other work by nongovernmental groups by placing new, draconian limits on freedom of association, said Human Rights Watch and Front Line Defenders.

The bill, which heavily borrows from Russia's notorious “foreign agents” law, would similarly require organizations in Kyrgyzstan that receive foreign funding and supposedly engage in “political activities” to register as “foreign agents.”

“President Atambaev needs to hear – loud and clear – that a 'foreign agents' law has absolutely no place in Kyrgyzstan,” said Mary Lawlor, director at Front Line Defenders. “An active civil society is an essential component of any functioning democracy.”

In a disturbing trend, the proposed “foreign agents” law is not the first legislative initiative in Kyrgyzstan this year that has sought to curb the activities of nongovernmental groups. In late January, a draft law on money laundering was introduced by the State Financial Intelligence Unit under the prime minister's office that would have placed undue financial controls on nongovernmental organizations. The groups successfully intervened, however. They organized a public hearing, and then formed a working group with representatives of the unit, who ultimately agreed to remove the discriminatory provisions.

“EU leaders should encourage President Atambaev to speak out against discriminatory legislative initiatives that would gravely undermine freedom of association in Kyrgyzstan,” Lawlor said.

Kyrgyzstan is the only country in Central Asia that has ushered in a parliamentary democracy and has had a peaceful transfer of presidential power. Following the June 2010 ethnic violence that rocked the southern part of the country, with hundreds killed and thousands left homeless, the government instituted some political and rights reforms, such as decriminalizing libel and introducing a national torture prevention mechanism.

Despite these positive steps, authorities have been violating fundamental human rights, particularly in the south. Over the last three years, authorities have failed to provide justice for victims of the 2010 ethnic violence or to hold those responsible to account.

Another key concern is widespread torture and ill-treatment by law-enforcement officials during their investigations into the 2010 violence. Human Rights Watch and others, including the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, who visited Kyrgyzstan in December 2011, have documented these abuses. Prosecutorial authorities in Kyrgyzstan often decline to investigate serious and credible allegations of torture.

Only a handful of June 2010-related cases are still in court. But the deeply hostile courtroom environment and repeated violent attacks on lawyers and defendants persist. These problems and the impunity for those who violently disrupt trials have marred many of the June 2010-related trials.

The Kyrgyz authorities should stop turning a blind eye to these courtroom attacks, and instead intervene to stop them and hold those responsible for the violence accountable, Front Line Defenders and Human Rights Watch said.

Similarly, the authorities should ensure that every credible allegation of torture is fully and impartially investigated in a manner capable of bringing those responsible to account.

“Torture and violent attacks put the weakness of Kyrgyzstan's law enforcement and judiciary on clear display,” Rittmann said. “EU leaders should urge President Atambaev to put an end to these blatant abuses.”

Gender-based violence and violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are also longstanding problems that the Kyrgyz government has not effectively addressed. Domestic violence is widespread, as are abductions for forced marriage, despite recent legislative amendments increasing the penalties for this practice. Gay and bisexual men are at serious risk of extortion schemes and physical and sexual violence at the hands of the police in abuses that go largely unpunished.

EU officials should use their talks with Atambaev to urge him to provide leadership in ensuring a more effective response to gender-based violence and bride-kidnapping. He should also be urged to support and initiate concrete measures to address discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, including ensuring that victims can seek and get justice, Front Line Defenders and Human Rights Watch said.

The independence of the public broadcaster came into question on several occasions, as the outlet aired one-sided reports on the Vecherniy Bishkek dispute and faced allegations of partisan bias in coverage of the October parliamentary elections.

Freedom Forum monitored FoE during the elections as it concerns citizens' freedom of expression through the ballot box. Therefore, any action creating an unfavourable atmosphere for the elections is also a violation of freedom of expression.

A recent HKJA survey indicates a slight rise in the Hong Kong Press Freedom Index after two consecutive years of decline. Journalists on the ground believe that the situation has worsened in 2016, compared to the year before. HKJA chairperson Sham Yee-lan explained that the slight increase in the Press Freedom Index was likely to be related to the emergence of online media, which has led to some diversity in the industry.

This report presents the findings of a three-month study focused on mapping, observing and analysing online harassment of journalists in Hungary. The study aimed to identify the types of harassment journalists are subject to, which journalists are typically harassed, who the harassers are, and how journalists cope with harassment.

Combining both violent and nonviolent methods, the Communist Party's policies are designed to curb the rapid growth of religious communities and eliminate certain beliefs and practices, while also harnessing aspects of religion that could serve the regime's political and economic interests.

Many journalists increasingly practice self-censorship, fearing retribution from security forces, military intelligence, and militant groups. Media outlets in 2016 remained under pressure to avoid reporting on or criticising human rights violations in counterterrorism operations. The Taliban and other armed groups threatened media outlets and targeted journalists and activists for their work.

Chinese authorities' enforced disappearance of critics from Hong Kong and other countries in 2016 garnered headlines globally. Beijing's decision to interfere in a politically charged court case in Hong Kong in November undermined judicial independence and the territory's autonomy. In the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and Tibet, Beijing continued its highly repressive rule, curtailing political activity and many peaceful expressions of ethnic and religious identity.

Bangladesh witnessed a spate of violent attacks against secular bloggers, academics, gay rights activists, foreigners, and members of religious minorities in 2016. Several laws were proposed during the year to increase restrictions on freedom of expression.

Freedom Forum observed a relatively peaceful atmosphere for the media this year (2016) with a significant decline in the number of press freedom violations. FF recorded only 25 incidents of press freedom violations during 2016 versus 83 in 2015.

Pakistan is among the countries that do not properly investigate and prosecute crimes against media professionals. Because of the near absolute level of impunity, most of the people who attack, injure or even murder media journalists in Pakistan remain free.

2016 is a highly significant year for Cambodian democracy. Looking back, 2016 marks 25 years since the conclusion of the Paris Peace Agreements (the “Paris Agreements”), which brought an end to 20 years of conflict in the Kingdom of Cambodia (“Cambodia”) and laid the framework for a political settlement based on human rights and liberal democracy; looking forward, 2016 marks the unofficial start of the lead‐up to the local and national elections in 2017 and 2018, respectively, as political actors across the spectrum begin to position themselves.

In the 27 cases of journalists murdered for their work in India since CPJ began keeping records in 1992, there have been no convictions. More than half of those killed reported regularly on corruption. The cases of Jagendra Singh, Umesh Rajput, and Akshay Singh, who died between 2011 and 2015, show how small-town journalists face greater risk in their reporting than those from larger outlets, and how India's culture of impunity is leaving the country's press vulnerable to threats and attacks

Latin America is, by far, the most dangerous region of the world for environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs). The lack of effective guarantees of human rights protection in Latin American States has created this dire situation.

Violence against journalists in Europe increased in the second quarter of 2016, reports submitted to Index on Censorship’s Mapping Media Freedom platform show, as a government crackdown in Turkey intensified and protests turned violent in countries from France to Finland.

IFEX publishes original and member-produced free expression news and reports. Some member content has been edited by IFEX. We invite you to contact [email protected] to request permission to reproduce or republish in whole or in part content from this site.